Thursday, August 9, 2012

I'm back! Geez, it feels good to say that. No more teaching after an 8-5er at work followed by 3 hours of teaching at night. That schedule left drained with barely anything left to give at the end of the day.

It took a lot of me, but the experience and the money made it worth my time. Plus, it makes me appreciate going home after work and enjoying my precious time with E. J. and Kathryn. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy making dinner each night, even if it's after a long work day. It just feels good to be back to the routine of our week nights.

I haven't been able to do an update on Kathryn lately, so I thought this would be the perfect time now that I'm back in the swing of blogging.

Working in the barn

*My sweet, not-so-little, 27 month old is about 3'1" and 32lb. With vacation coming up very soon, potty training hasn't really been a priority, but if she's ready after our vacay, we might be trying it out more when we return. But for now, she's still rocking the size 6 diapers.

*A couple weeks after her second birthday in May we started her on fluoride toothpaste and she did great. She knows to spit in the sink during each break of brushing and loves to show off her clean chompers.

Long day at school

*In April, K started saying "ya mon". Kim and Andy were visiting at the time and we were puzzled on where she picked up on the Jamaican influence. After a month of her saying "ya mon" I finally figured out that she's trying to say "another one". So you'll often hear her say "I want a ya mon pizza". "I want a ya mon yogurt". You can the point. After four months, she's still sticking with "ya mon".

*She knows her first and last name

*I'd say a couple of months ago she started counting "one, twoooo, peeee, five". But while I was cooking dinner about two weeks ago she counted to 10 out of the blue. (Thank you, school!)

*This week she also randomly started singing the ABC's and singing the Wheels on the Bus (with hand motions - this girl has talent).

*I think school has been great for her. Soon after she started in June, sentences turned into short paragraphs that were flowing out of her mouth and I was amazed at the conversations we could have (and the 3 bullet points above here are also thanks to school!)

*You may remember our little struggle with keeping Kathryn in her room once she knew that being in a big girl bed meant she could easily escape. The baby gate worked great and for the last two months it's no longer in use. She does escape her room, but not to the extent she was previously doing it. And, it never fails - each night she reminds us no less than 10 times: "don't put my gate up, I don't need my gate up".

*Her imagination is blooming. Over the last few weeks she'll tell us she's going to the store and we get to request items. She leaves us with a "see ya later" and promptly returns with items. Eh, she may not bring me what I asked for, but she often returns with "coconuts, peanut butter, cheese, butter, and acorns". JUST what I needed :).

*Speaking of imagination and baby gates, Kathryn will often ask you to "open your gate" (meaning, your arms) and "close your gate" = a hug!

*She's the ultimate taddle tale (on herself) and will warn you when she's about to do something "bad"...as long as she's not taddling on me sneaking some chocolate chips in the pantry, I'm fine with that.

The usual scene on the way to school each morning. She's either reading a book or telling me to "put a song on" as soon as there is any talk on the radio. If she likes it, I get the order to "turn it loud" and if she doesn't like it: "No! Turn a good song on". Your wish is my command, my dear.

*Any type of button-up shirt has been renamed by K as a "jacket shirt". Huh, it actually kinda makes sense.

*I've given up on milk. She just won't drink it from a sippy cup. She's too old/smart now to be tricked into drinking milk from anything but a bottle. So, she hasn't had milk in a long time. Oh well.

*Currently loves: tractors, ballerinas, dozers, big trucks (she points out EVERY big truck we see on our way to school), "pretty dresses," and Daddy.

*I'm impressed with her manners thus far. She surprises us all the time with her "pleases" and "thank you's" without being prompted...but we do lots of reminding too. E. J. bought her some chocolate ice cream popsicles the other day and as he gave it to her she said "THANK YOU for buying me ice cream, daddy".

*Lastly, I'm going to have to buy one of these soon because I can tell the one-liners are about to start. We were at a wedding last weekend and there were rose petals sprinkled down both sides of the isle. As soon as we walked in, Kathryn pointed to the floor and told us "look at that mess". She's becoming quite the character.